Accepting credit cards

I've had the Paynow button on my website for a couple years now and have been happy with it. I get a few extra jobs every year and have had an easier time getting paid on late accounts by having a credit card payment option. I track the fee's and my acountant uses it as a business expense.

Kelly Dunford

My son gave me a "Square Credit Card Reader" from Radio Shack that plugs into my droid phone.

I have not signed up yet, or used the reader but as he explained it to me it's a 2.75% charge and the deposit is made directly to your bank account.

The reader cost $9.99.....

I'm going to give it a whirl if/when I get the opportunity..

Don

Our company is in the same boat with some differences. The title companies we work with are able to wait pretty much until the last minute before closing to order the survey. We have been 'rushing' our work for this reason and thankfully the cancellation rate has almost disappeared. However, we have been getting calls from independent people that ask to pay with a CC and we let them know that we only accept cash or check. We managed to maybe lose one client in 10 years due to not accepting CCs. We are working on accepting CCs and we're looking into several options. For sure we will not buy any processing machines like retail stores have. We're looking into virtual/on line CC processing. PayPal seems like the best option so far.

For you, if taking a 2.9% +$0.30 (per transaction) hit would ease the risk of losing the deal all together, do it.

Nick
Miami, Fl.

I have been using paypal for a number of years now as a result of being an ebay member. The setup (at least through ebay) is very much geared towards protecting the consumer. Though I have never had an issue, a consumer is able to come back and get their money back in a fashion that concerns me for a period of at least a month I think. No questions asked, the money can just be yanked from the seller's account for a "simple" misunderstanding.

Does the same rule apply in other lines of business?

I got the "square up" system.. pretty slick, but I don't use it a lot. check it out..

You can get a free card swiper for a smartphone by signing up at squareup.com and I think it's 2.75% per transaction. You can also hand enter the numbers if you want to do a transaction over the phone, but I think the fee is a little higher for that.

The only issue I see with the squared up thing is the amount you can put on the account. If you read their info it says they will hold any amounts over $1,000 in a certain period for at least 30 days.

I am looking at getting paid by a large engieering firm for work I have done through a "P" card. The catch is it is in the 3K range. Squared up would hold it through 30 days, whats the advantage?

I am looking a CC through my Quickbooks account. No yearly fee, free for 60 days and only $20 month after that. Can cancel anytime, no caleclation fees.

This is the only time I have been asked to do this, so I might sign up, get the payment then cancel my account before 60 days.

I tried my bank and its was way to complicated, to many fees etc.

The squared up thing may work for small surveys less then 1K.

That assumes that I am in the 21st century and have a smart phone (which I don't) 😛

I grudgingly have a "dumb" cell phone that is only capable of phone calls and nothing else.

Our firm started taking credit cards approximately six years ago, as well as taking deposits before doing any work. The credit card is an easy way to make a deposit over the phone and for the 2-3 percent fee, I would rather pay that than not get paid at all.

LSU has been accepting credit cards for a couple years

now for our GPS Real Time Network. It has been so smooth a transition from receiving checks through the postal service that the LSU Bursar's Office is now doing that for accepting tuition and other fees from what I have been informed.

The overwhelming majority of our GULFNet subscribers seem to like it too.

The new Trimble Network software sure makes a lot of this easy to implement also.

It Is In Your Best Interest...

to accept cc's. At minimum, you will see a 10% increase in debt collection from the convenience factor alone.

Considering that at least 80% of all consumers own a debit card and at least that many own a credit card, a business would have to be disfunctional not to accept electronic payment for invoices.

Hell, a law was just passed in Louisiana that prohibits the use of cash to buy used merchandise. There will be a domino effect.

AS32

I used Paypal when I first started, then when my wife got a Droid Phone, and we went with Square. I like Square much better than Paypal. It's more user friendly.

With paypal, we would send the buyer an invoice via email, which means they have to have an email, which a lot of older Floridians do not. I don't think there is a "pay by phone" option with paypal.

It Is In Your Best Interest...

> Hell, a law was just passed in Louisiana that prohibits the use of cash to buy used merchandise. There will be a domino effect.
>
> AS32

Hmmmm.... so, if someone in Louisiana goes to a flea market, they are required to pay fifty cents by CREDIT CARD?? If someone sees something on Craigslist, they can not pay cash for a $2 item? Sounds a bit goofy to me..... Not everybody has nor wants the ability to process credit cards for small purchases.

Or does the credit card law not cover ALL used items?

It Is In Your Best Interest...

That new law flew in under most people's radar. There's a lot of consternation now showing up.

"Unintended consequences ..."

🙂

It Is In Your Best Interest...

I fail to see how accepting a credit (or debit) card, with the resultant fee taken out of the invoiced amount, is in my best interest, especially since my clients pay the full amount by check, and many of them by return mail. Let's see, full amount or discounted amount, full amount or discounted amount, hum, think I'll stay with the full amount.

It Is In Your Best Interest...

You sir are an anomoly. Maybe that's just the way it goes with those who are members of MENSA. However, most surveyors have clients who prefer paying their bills with the convenience of CC's.

AS3

> I used Paypal when I first started, then when my wife got a Droid Phone, and we went with Square. I like Square much better than Paypal. It's more user friendly.
>
> With paypal, we would send the buyer an invoice via email, which means they have to have an email, which a lot of older Floridians do not. I don't think there is a "pay by phone" option with paypal.

Well, I was settled on Paypal, but since you have used both maybe you can expand
on your decision.
I was thinking that with the square thing I would need to be in the physical presence of the client to swipe the card and that with the paypal option they could just go to my site and take care if it. Is that incorrect?

My wife told me that I could make a link with Paypal on my website, where buyers could click and pay for the survey. I never did that, though. I'm not sure how that works. I would make a paypal invoice and email them, that's the only way I ever used PayPal.

As far as Square goes, you can take payment over the phone (you need CC#, Expiration date, Zip Code, and that 3 digit security number on the back of the card), then enter that information manually into the phone. There is a difference in percentage between "swipe" and manual entry. IIRC, they charge 0.50% more for manual entry.

It Is In Your Best Interest...

> Considering that at least 80% of all consumers own a debit card and at least that many own a credit card, a business would have to be disfunctional not to accept electronic payment for invoices.

Unless 95% of their business comes from commercial, governmental and institutional entities, none of which use credit cards for paying invoices.

In nearly 19 years in business, I've had exactly 1 client ask about using a credit card, and I sent her to PayPal. I didn't like having to effectively discount my fee, but it was less hassle than trying to get her to pay by check.